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Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)

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Re: Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)

#191

Post by giancarlostoro »

divbzero wrote: post #112
wildrhythms wrote: post #92

"We've done tons of user testing on this, and it turns out it doesn't work. Touch surfaces don't want to be vertical. It gives great demo but after a short period of time, you start to fatigue and after an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off. it doesn't work, it's ergonomically terrible." -Steve Jobs, 2010 https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-touch-screen-mac-...

“Who wants a stylus? You have to get ’em and put ’em away, and you lose ’em. Yuck. Nobody wants a stylus. So let’s not use a stylus. We’re going to use the best pointing device in the world. We’re going to use a pointing device that we’re all born with—born with ten of them. We’re going to use our fingers.” — Steve Jobs, 2007 (8 years before the introduction of the Apple Pencil)

For a device that fits in your hand I understand his argument, for something that takes more than one hand to hold, I can see the usefulness of a different "pointer" device, but also, artists use things like the Apple Pencil, it makes way more sense.

Re: Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)

#192

Post by thebruce87m »

VerifiedReports wrote: post #133
trash_cat wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody forces you to use touchscreen exclusively?

You say that now. And yet Apple now forces you to use shitty Bluetooth headphones to listen to its most popular music player.

What product are you referring to? One where you can’t use USB-C headphones or an adapter?

Re: Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)

#193

Post by dayvid »

dotBen wrote: post #16

I wouldn't want a touchscreen MBP even if it was free, anyone else feel similar? I don't get the draw - we already optimize for keyboard commands to avoid living our fingers over to a touchpad. Why would I want to start clicking on my screen? If you're using your computer for tasks (rather than entertainment) and you're not a visual designer, I don't get why Apple are apparently going to be putting them into the new…

Seems like it only makes sense if it's a hybrid tablet laptop like the Yoga. Otherwise it's a nice gimmick. I can also see Apple being terrified at someone's dirty fingers smudging the laptop, though they'd have some anti-smudge coating built in at that point

Re: Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)

#194

Post by satvikpendem »

VerifiedReports wrote: post #129
satvikpendem wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder what people will say when Apple releases the touch screen MacBook later this year then.

They'll say it sucks ass, and they'll be right. Touchscreen computers have failed for a reason. Then again... so did "transparent" UI, which Apple just exhumed.

Average users won't, like the sibling comment notes, and that's who Apple generally targets; only power users complain. And not sure where you are getting the idea that touchscreen computers failed, many models with touchscreens have great sales figures, Surface for one notable example, Lenovo's for another.

Re: Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)

#195

Post by dfxm12 »

wongarsu wrote: post #160
pjc50 wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The original "gorilla arm" UX research is much older. However, Microsoft surface was something of a niche hit, and spawned a number of clones. PC laptops with touchscreens are quite prevalent even if they're not in the full-hinge form factor. They work a lot better if you can lay the screen flat or at a low angle in your lap. Re: the stylus sub-thread, I've actually used cheap Android resistive+stylus phones and a Co…

I've used two touchscreen laptops during the Windows 7 era, and I'd largely agree with Jobs. It's great for some niche cases, but sits unused 99% of the time. Of course that was before Windows 8 completely redesigned the UI to better support touch, but that also hasn't lead to an appreciable portion of Windows laptops selling with touchscreens. The Surface devices are a bit of an exception. For the tablets it works g…

It's great for some niche cases

With my left hand, I poke the required bits of my corporate training modules. With my right hand, I rest my fingers behind the right side of my display and quickly click the "next" button. I get through training in record time.

This is the only time I use the touchscreen on my (non-convertible) laptop. It seems like touchscreen is most useful when you have big enough targets spread out over the page. Most software I use isn't designed like that. Aiming for the restore button may result in hitting the close button...

Re: Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)

#196

Post by znpy »

divbzero wrote: post #112
wildrhythms wrote: post #92

"We've done tons of user testing on this, and it turns out it doesn't work. Touch surfaces don't want to be vertical. It gives great demo but after a short period of time, you start to fatigue and after an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off. it doesn't work, it's ergonomically terrible." -Steve Jobs, 2010 https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-touch-screen-mac-...

“Who wants a stylus? You have to get ’em and put ’em away, and you lose ’em. Yuck. Nobody wants a stylus. So let’s not use a stylus. We’re going to use the best pointing device in the world. We’re going to use a pointing device that we’re all born with—born with ten of them. We’re going to use our fingers.” — Steve Jobs, 2007 (8 years before the introduction of the Apple Pencil)

> (8 years before the introduction of the Apple Pencil)

I have briefly used one of the old PDAs with Windows Mobile and a stylus, and i have an ipad with an apple pencil.

They are two completely different experiences.

A stylus is clunky, particularly if you consider styluses as they were back in the day: pieces of dumb plastic with a specific shape to fit in the PDA itself, to be used on dumb resistive touch screens.

the apple pencil (as well as other modern styluses) are completely different, and work on capacitive touch screens.

Re: Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)

#197

Post by amadeuspagel »

wildrhythms wrote: post #92

"We've done tons of user testing on this, and it turns out it doesn't work. Touch surfaces don't want to be vertical. It gives great demo but after a short period of time, you start to fatigue and after an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off. it doesn't work, it's ergonomically terrible." -Steve Jobs, 2010 https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-touch-screen-mac-...

The reason you want a touchscreen on a laptop isn't so that you can use it for "an extended period of time" but rather so that you can use it to do the few things that are painful with a touchpad, like drag and drop.

Re: Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)

#198

Post by f33d5173 »

zuhsetaqi wrote: post #115
divbzero wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Who wants a stylus? You have to get ’em and put ’em away, and you lose ’em. Yuck. Nobody wants a stylus. So let’s not use a stylus. We’re going to use the best pointing device in the world. We’re going to use a pointing device that we’re all born with—born with ten of them. We’re going to use our fingers.” — Steve Jobs, 2007 (8 years before the introduction of the Apple Pencil)

When Steve Jobs said that, he was talking about a stylus as a main or even only input device. And he is still right about it. The Apple Pencil for the iPad never was a main input device but an alternative.

Touch input needn't be the main input to a laptop with a keyboard and a trackpad...

Re: Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)

#199

Post by kjkjadksj »

amadeuspagel wrote: post #197
wildrhythms wrote: post #92

"We've done tons of user testing on this, and it turns out it doesn't work. Touch surfaces don't want to be vertical. It gives great demo but after a short period of time, you start to fatigue and after an extended period of time, your arm wants to fall off. it doesn't work, it's ergonomically terrible." -Steve Jobs, 2010 https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-touch-screen-mac-...

The reason you want a touchscreen on a laptop isn't so that you can use it for "an extended period of time" but rather so that you can use it to do the few things that are painful with a touchpad, like drag and drop.

That is painful for you on a touchpad?

Re: Turning a MacBook into a touchscreen with $1 of hardware (2018)

#200

Post by kjkjadksj »

oarsinsync wrote: post #149
VerifiedReports wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They'll say it sucks ass, and they'll be right. Touchscreen computers have failed for a reason. Then again... so did "transparent" UI, which Apple just exhumed.

> They'll say it sucks ass, and they'll be right. And yet my wife will disagree hard with you, as all her fingerprints on my laptop screen will attest to. She always defaults to trying to swipe the screen instead of going to the mouse. > Touchscreen computers have failed for a reason. The only people who think touch screens have failed are people who actually use computers, and we are a tiny minority of the populatio…

Your wife actually swipes at a non touch screen thinking it is a touch screen?
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